Where to Shop for the World’s Best Stuff (and Bargains to Boot)

First, Watch the Exchange Rate

Before we get started, remember that your cost depends on the exchange rate between your currency and the currency of the country you’re in. Since the euro is used in so much of Europe, my European readers needn’t be as concerned. But travelers from the US, Australia, and the UK may not get the bargain they anticipate.

My Asian readers may be buying high, depending on the euro-to-dollar exchange rate. So use a site like Tipranks to check the rates. If you’re planning a big purchase, like a diamond in South Africa, watch the rates before you go, and if they’re better than usual, buy your currency then.

Jewelry

I love the vintage fair in Palm Springs held every month on the first Sunday.

I was also impressed by one street of costume jewelry shops in Paris that specializes in clip earrings for older women who no longer have pierced ears, like me. Check out the Rue de L’Odeon on the Left Bank.

TIP: Jewelry districts in NYC (West 47th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues), LA (6th Street between Hill and Olive), and other cities offer a bewildering array of stalls. My suggestion: ask any dealer where you can find the jewelry repair booth. Repairers often resell jewelry that was damaged and left with them to fix or sell. I get great buys that way.

I visited Cape Town and went to the highest-ranking diamond dealers like Shimansky near the V&A Waterfront. They make sure the diamonds are legitimate and ethically mined. I found the prices too high for me, because they deal in the highest quality and largest sizes, not because they are overpriced.

One great place to buy jewelry and get bargains in quality gems is the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in Arizona, held every February. A wonderful place abroad is the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy, particularly if you love Italian design and filigree.

Pearls

The best pearl shops are in Tahiti, but I have found the best prices in Bora Bora, (try Arc En Ciel) where the limited selection is very high quality for the price. I also buy from Shinju Pearls Japan, which sponsors the Cherry Blossom Festival events in Washington, DC.

Silver

Mexico is wonderful for silver, but don’t rely on the sellers’ heat test to prove it’s silver; make sure it has the .925 mark. If you want quality, try Taxco and Guadalajara, and especially the Bustamante studios in Tlaquepaque and Puerto Vallarta. For price and authenticity, if you know how to shop, go to Ensenada. If you don’t know quality, visit the Blowhole (La Bufadora, just outside Ensenada) and have a shrimp taco.

And for the most fun underground experience, visit the London Silver Vaults. I still have the toast rack I bought there when I was twenty.

Clothes

I shop in Montmartre, Paris, on the Rue Lepic, for great style at prices as low as €20 per dress or shirt.

I love Madrid because it has tailor-owned boutiques that make their own lines of clothing for about €60–100 per outfit. Check out the shops around the Calle del Prado in the Literary Quarter.

For shoes, go to Spain and Italy. But there is a pop-up boutique in Limoges with great shoes, if you can wear heels. It’s on Avenue General DeGaulle near the Brit Hotel.

Bags are a surprise. Most people will say leather in Italy, but I devour cork purses in

Portugal (try Cork & Co. on Rua das Salgadeiras in Lisbon and imitation leather in Greece near Syntagma Square and the Ermou.

For men who hate shopping and would never go near Savile Row, the best men’s clothes I have found for the American build are in England, in a Walmart-sized shop stacked to the rafters. Its called Asda and I shopped at the one in Workington in the Lake District for a tuxedo there. It’s really cheap, and it’s a tuxedo you can stuff in a suitcase; it looked great for £50.

Don’t buy belts at market stalls. Mostly you’ll find cheap leather that falls apart.

Grandkids’ Gifts

I buy for them everywhere. But my favorite shop is Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop in the Covent Garden Market, London, the theatre and puppet shop for old-fashioned tabletop toy theatres where kids can play Punch and Judy. And I love Germany, especially the Christmas markets, for wooden toys, dolls, and, again, old-fashioned non-tech toys.

Art

Art is so individual that I can only tell you I use the Portal Gallery in England (now Portal Painters, London) for naïve art and the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore for outsider art. I don’t travel especially to buy art, but if I did, I would go to Art Basel Miami Beach.

Furniture and Furnishings

The key is to use shipping containers. I went to England in 1985, when the pound and the dollar were about equal. I contracted with a container company so I could go from place to place, pay for my furniture and art, and get a certificate and number. I sent that report to the container folks, and they gathered the furniture for me and shipped it to New York. I shopped from Brighton, England, to Edinburgh, Scotland, and never lifted a finger. Quick tip: I also love buying chandeliers and dishes in Portugal, especially in Coimbra, and in towns dedicated to local potters, like São Pedro do Corval, Caldas da Rainha and Barcelos.

Food

​Fortnum & Mason, Harrods and the markets only scratch the surface of the foods you may want to take home if you’re a gourmet. Here is my caveat.

CAVEAT: If you buy from souks in Morocco, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai; the markets of India; the Otavalo market in Ecuador; the markets of Entebbe, Uganda; the floating markets of Bangkok; or the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul, be sure the items are safe and disease-free. After all, you are going to eat this. Check the water they use to prepare or pickle. And yes, buy Dijon mustard in Dijon (where else?).

Finally, if you don’t want your food to be confiscated, don’t bring home meat, fresh fruits or vegetables, or most tobacco products. How do I know they’ll be confiscated? Don’t ask!

A Last Word

For those non-shoppers who are appalled by the very thought of spending one minute of precious sightseeing time shopping, I understand. I live with one of you. If your significant other is a shopper, you may have to listen to a litany of all the great bargains and look at everything they bought. Take a deep breath, nod in appreciation, and know you are earning points in heaven.

The Ageless Traveler

Never Stop Traveling!

​​​​​

​Unsubscribe · Preferences​